The Romanov Legacy

Chapter 4

The next day everyone had calmed down about the unexpected visitors, and continued with their lives, although Olga still wasn't sure how she was going to get to know everyone good enough to know they were nothing, or maybe something. Before she needed to worry about all of that she had sixteen cards to write. Her parents and she had decided to see if everyone had enough qualities to organise tasks where they every time needed to show different qualities they had. To not put too much pressure on them the first task and to see how they would act in a larger group surrounded by dukes and duchesses, the first task would be a ball. Olga took her pen, dipped it into the ink and started to write.

Dear suitors,

Welcome to the winter palace. We hope your first day went well and already got the chance to get acquainted with some of the other young men. To celebrate your arrival here there will be a ball you all should attend so we can get acquainted. You shall only need to care for your suits.

I shall see you there.

Grand duchess Olga Nikolaevna Romanova

When she was done she collected all the cards, fold them and wax sealed them with the stamp with their house weapon, the two headed eagle. She walked out of her room and handed them to one of the footmen. "Bring them to the chambers of the suitors, and lay one for each of them on their beds," Olga said. The footman nodded and walked away. Olga walked into her room again, and decided she'd ratter wear a light blue ribbon today then the soft pink one. She pulled the ribbon from the waist of her dress and putted on the blue one. After that she walked out again to see what everyone was up to. She entered Tatiana her room, what was opposite of her own, to see if she was there. "Tatya," Olga said. "Do you have some time?" Tatiana looked up and smiled at her sister. "Mother told me I needed to help Maria with her French," Tatiana answered. "Can't professor Gillard do that? Isn't he supposed to care for her French classes?" Olga asked. Tatiana nodded. "Yes he is, although he fell sick and wasn't able to come," she explained. Well it seemed like she needed to go and talk with everyone alone. "If you are done and I'm still there, will you come to the drawing room?" she asked before she left the room. "Of course, although you need to tell me everything that has happened because I need to know," Tatiana said. "Definitely," Olga said as she closed the door behind her and started her way to the drawing room where they had also spend yesterday's afternoon. She had always rather enjoyed that drawing room. The soft features of it made it feel like home, but also kept the rich and important look a house of the tsar should have. Coming close and closer to the room Olga could distinguish voices, one was definitely from her little sister and the other of her brother, so the third must be a selected then.

"You're stronger then you look," the rough voice said. "Can you do a couple in a row? What makes you angry?"

"My parents and sisters babying me!" definitely Alexei said.

"Yes! Punch that feeing out!"

"Can I go too? I can punch really hard as well," the only girl voice asked.

Absolutely baffled by what must be going on Olga entered the drawing room, directly noticing she was right. There stood sir Viggo, holding a pillow up, the one Alexei had definitely punched, with a horrible looking Alexei next to him. Anastasia stood on the other side, her hair already a mess.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Olga asked, clearly not amused, as she marched over to Viggo and grabbed the pillow out of his hands, placing it on the sofa again and directly sitting down. "I demand an explanation." Worried Alexei might have hurted his fists she examined them. When nothing turned out to be wrong she looked up again, from Anastasia, to Alexei and as last to Viggo.

"I was teaching the little lord how to fight," the selected said, not showing the slightest bit of regret.

"Why would he even have to know how to fight? He has more then enough guards do that for him. Did you hurt yourself Aloshka? Nastya, go up and do some of your studies or something."

"Yes mum," Anastasia answered a little irritated as she walked out of the room.

Alexei looked down at the ground, clearly regretting what he had done. Well at least someone felt regret then. "I want to help the guards with fighting against the Bolsheviks, but I'm alright, I was just punching the pillow."

"Of course he has to learn how to fight," Viggo said a little puzzled, looking at her with the same look. "He has to be able to defend himself. I understand that you aren't used to not having things done for you, but it's actually quite useful."

"I absolutely don't care about what's useful or not, he can't fight. Now, Alexei you will go too and don't think mama won't hear about this." Olga couldn't understand why he had even decided to join, he should have known better. She hadn't expected anything else of Viggo, he couldn't have known better, in a way then, but Alexei? So with his head hanging down he left the drawing room, leaving Olga and Viggo alone.

"They're good kids," Viggo said as he moved his hand through his hair. "It's not weird for a pre-teen boy to want to learn how to defend himself or just mess around, it's rather normal actually."

"Yes, but he is the tsesarevich. He will become the next tsar, he has other things to do an worry about."

"So you're saying your old man never learned how to fight?" Viggo asked, it sounded way too sceptical in Olga her opinion and she hated it.

"He is his majesty for you, but how would I know? I wasn't as if I was by his upbringing was I?"

"He is your father! You're telling me you know nothing about his life? Anyway, it doesn't matter. All I'm saying is that if he wants to learn how to fight he should have the freedom to do so. He's got a family he wants to protect. Tsesarevich or not, that's a fact."

"Well he doesn't have to protect that family because there are hundreds of men who already do that and get payed for it," Olga said, as she got up and annoyed by everything he said. "I can completely understand the things my parents have said now."

"What's that supposed to mean? What did they say?"

"They said their things." Of course she knew he wasn't from a good family, especially if the letter wasn't even supposed to go to him, but she had expected he would at least have some manners. "And the next time when one of us gets up, you do too."

"Well maybe they shouldn't judge people before they get to know them." Viggo got up and set a step closer to Olga. "And I'm not bad, you know. Just because I don't know how to be 'proper' doesn't mean I'm the scum of the earth."

"Well maybe you are, who knows," Olga said, absolutely not intimidated. "And maybe you shouldn't judge them either." She gave him one last dirty look before she calmly walked out of the drawing room, but when she was out of sight she started to march. How dared he talk to her like that, he hadn't even been bothered to learn the etiquettes before he came here. Extremely annoyed she walked back to her room. She would talk about this with Tatya later, and maybe Maria knew what to do too, she was the kind one of the four of them atleast.